Coccidiosis is an extremely severe disease which is of major concern to the meat-producing industry. This disease is caused by protozoan parasites which infect the host animals causing them to lose weight, reduce their feed efficiency and, in many instances, die. In poultry, these protozoan parasites are generally of the genus Eimeria; six species of which have been shown to be primary causative agents for the disease in poultry. These six species are: Eimeria tenella, Eimeria necatrix, Eimeria mitis, Eimeria maxima, Eimeria brunetti, and Eimeria acervulina.
Although coccidiosis has been recognized, for many years, as one of the most important diseases confronting the meat-producing industry, nevertheless, heretofore no entirely satisfactory method of control of the disease has been provided.
It is therefore, an object of this invention to provide a novel method for the control of protozoan infections in warm-blooded animals, particularly meat-producing animals such as poultry, swine, cattle, and sheep.
It is also an object of this invention to provide novel compositions effective for the control of protozoan infections in meat-producing animals and it is a further object of the invention to provide novel antibacterial compositions effective for controlling, treating, minimizing, preventing, ameliorating, or curing protozoal infections in warm-blooded animals, particularly in poultry and other meat-producing animals such as cattle, sheep, rabbits, and swine.